Close Encounters of the Third Kind [WS] [Collector's Edition]

Director: Steven Spielberg Steven Spielberg

Overview

"Steven Spielberg's first film to feature aliens, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, comes to DVD with a widescreen anamorphic transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1. Closed-captioned English soundtracks are rendered in Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, and Dolby Digital Stereo; while Spanish and French soundtracks have been recorded in Dolby Digital Stereo. English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, and Thai subtitles are accessible. There are no supplemental materials of any consequence. This is a fine disc, but avid fans of the film will probably want to check out the two-disc set that comes loaded with extras."

Product Details

Release Date:	08/27/2002
UPC:	0043396094307
Original Release:	1977
Rating:	PG
Source:	Sony Pictures
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, THX-Supervised Mastering, DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound, Dolby Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:17:00

Special Features

Closed Caption;Digitally mastered audio & anamorphic video; Widescreen presentation; Audio: English 5.1 (DTS and Dolby Digital), English 2-Channel (Dolby Surround), French, Spanish; Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai; Animated menus; Remastered in high definition; Scene selection

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Richard Dreyfuss	Roy Neary,Toby Neary
Melinda Dillon	Jillian Guiler
Teri Garr	Ronnie Neary
Bob Balaban	David Laughlin
J. Patrick McNamara	Project Leader
Warren J. Kemmerling	Wild Bill
Roberts Blossom	Farmer
Cary Guffey	Barry Guiler
Shawn Bishop	Brad Neary
Adrienne Campbell	Sylvia Neary
Lance Henriksen	Robert
Merrill Connally	Team Leader
George DiCenzo	Major Benchley
Philip Dodds	Jean Claude
Carl Weathers	M.P.
Roger Ernest	Highway Patrolman
Josef Sommer	Larry Butler
Gene Dynarski	Ike
Gene Rader	Hawker
F.J. O'Neil	ARP Project Member
François Truffaut	Claude Lacombe
Basil Hoffman	Actor
Randy Herman	Returnee #1 Flt. 19
Hal Barwood	Returnee #2 Flt. 19
John Williams	Composer
Matthew Robbins	Returnee #3 Flt. 19
David Anderson	Air Traffic Controller
Bill Thurman	Air Traffic
Eumenio Blanco	Federale
Chuy Franco	Federale
Luis Contreras	Federale
James Keane	Radio Telescope Team
Dennis McMullen	Radio Telescope Team
Matt Emery	Special Leader
Galen Thompson	Special Forces
John Johnston	Special Forces
Jon Ewing	Dirty Tricks #1
Keith Atkinson	Dirty Tricks #2
Robert Broyles	Dirty Tricks #3
David Gilbert	Voices
Bob Westmoreland	Actor
Amy Douglass	Implantee
Alexander Lockwood	Implantee
Norman Bartold	Ohio Tolls

Technical Credits

Steven Spielberg

Hal Barwood

Jerry Belson

Steven Spielberg	Director,Screenwriter
Michael Phillips	Producer,Producer
Roy Arbogast	Special Effects
Gregory Jein	Special Effects
Douglas Trumbull	Special Effects
Matthew Yuricich	Special Effects,Special Effects
Hal Barwood	Screenwriter
Gene S. Cantamessa	Sound Effects
Sam Gemette	Sound Effects
Gary S. Gerlich	Sound Effects
Douglas Slocombe	Special Effects
Jerry Belson	Screenwriter
Jim Bloom	Producer
Don MacDougall	Sound/Sound Designer
Robert Glass	Sound/Sound Designer
Robert Knudson	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Several years in the making and, like Jaws, millions over budget, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) became Steven Spielberg's second blockbuster, confirming his skills at creating visually spectacular popular entertainment. Blending his reverence for the power of movies with a science fiction UFO tale, Spielberg turns an average man's "close encounter" with an extra-terrestrial into an uplifting excursion into fantastic sights. Unlike in Cold War 1950s UFO stories that posit a threat from outside, Spielberg turns the unknown from an initially menacing force that imperils normality into a universal ambassador of transcendent goodwill, providing an escapist note of cinematic hope during the late '70s cultural malaise. Still, 2001 F/X master Douglas Trumbull's pre-digital age visual effects were an even stronger draw, as Close Encounters moves from initial appearances of space pod lights towards the climactic appearance of the enormous and stunningly rendered "mother ship." Praised for Spielberg and company's dazzling craft, amid reservations over the cardboard characters, Close Encounters became one of the biggest hits of the 1970s, helping financially teetering Columbia Pictures and strengthening the late '70s turn towards youth-oriented blockbusters. Beginning with a 1980 "Special Edition," Spielberg re-edited Close Encounters several times after 1977.